First of all, I want to thank the three organization representatives for being here. What you have to say is very interesting.
I'd like to address my first remarks to the people from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Thank you for being here. Please know that the official opposition shares your concerns as to the future of SMEs and the contribution they make to the Canadian economy and to job creation.
Last week, we heard from representatives of the Canadian Business Information Technology Network, who were also quite critical of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises.
Allow me to quickly quote an excerpt from their presentation. I'd like to hear your comments in this regard.
Our members are interested in seeing the mandate of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME) expanded to include a more ''activist'' role designed not only to act as a public relations agent but also to really protect SMEs' interests. CABiNET agreed with the Conservative Party when it announced in March 2010 that it would be ''creating a level playing field for open source IT in government procurement and open up government IT contracts to SMEs by breaking up large IT projects into smaller components.'' But that was the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom. We hope that the same is true for the Conservative Party of Canada.
According to you, should we broaden the mandate of the office? Should it be given greater means? In your opinion, should the office act essentially as a public relations office that provides information? Or should it have a more proactive role?